Italian Restaurant Review: Olive Garden Chain

My favorite restaurant is Olive Garden. It is an Italian restaurant chain located all over. There are constant specials and commercials on television to entice the viewers. Italian food is my favorite cuisine and I get sucked right into the special of the month. I usually go at lunchtime with the ladies because lunchtime is very reasonable at olive garden. They have unlimited soup, salad, and bread sticks for only $5.95. And for the people who would rather order a more hearty meal, they have selected items that are smaller portions from their menu. The prices overall are fair for the portions that are served. Check out their website at www.olivegarden.com.

The bread sticks are so delicious and the salad is tasty. And for the soups, I usually get the zuppa tuscana. It is a cream based soup with spicy potatoes and sausage and sometimes you get some greens in it. I highly recommend it. My sister-in-law likes ordering the minestrone soup full of vegetables and beans in a tomato broth. And they also have pasta e fagioli which is also tomato based with pasta, vegetables, meat, and beans. Olive Garden also offers quite a few appetizers, but I cannot vouch for the flavors because I usually do not order appetizers.

Now on to the best part, the entree. You can order pretty much anything. You can create your own pizza or get a gourmet meal. My husband has gotten a pizza before and like it. Olive Garden has the classics like lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, and of course chicken parmesan. If you cannot decide on a classic entree you can order the tour of Italy to sample a few different dishes. If you are a meat lover, they have steak or pork entrees. If you favor poultry, they have a vast selection of entrees. My favorites that I can recommend are chicken marsala and the tuscan garlic chicken entrees. And for the seafood enthusiasts, there are plenty of dishes as well. I have tried the seafood portofino and it was scrumptious. The menu also offers what they refer to as garden fare entrees that are lower in fat and carbohydrates.